The ecology and evolution of diversity and cooperation in bacterial public-goods

Explaining why cooperation exists despite the persistent advantage of cheats has been the focus of much theoretical and empirical attention in biology. Using the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model system for the evolution of cooperation, I investigate two distinct phenomena which may develop our understanding of how cooperation is maintained; 1) tag-based cooperation and diversity; and 2) environmental heterogeneity. The first investigates how diversity in cooperative systems may be a response to the selective pressure exerted by cheating, and how cheats may then regulate communities to maintain diversity: I demonstrate that in competition, tag-based cooperation is able to evade parasitism, provided the public-good is only accessible to producer strains, i.e., the cheat possesses the “wrong” tag. I also demonstrate that cheats can have a marked influence on diversity: In a community of two producer strains with different tags, if a third cheater strain is introduced, it will drive both its own producer and itself extinct. I do not find that the presence of cheats maintains diversity in either structured or unstructured environments, and discuss the possible causes of this. In the second topic of this thesis, I investigate the effect of environmental heterogeneity in resource availability, through space and time, on the evolution of cooperation. Environmental heterogeneity is a ubiquitous feature of natural landscapes, yet its effect on the evolution of cooperation has not been extensively studied. I demonstrate that resource availability heterogeneity, in both time and space, acts to maintain cooperation at higher levels than homogeneous environments of the same total resource value. This effect is due to the covariance between productivity and the cost of cooperation: high resource availability periods and spaces are highly productive, and also incur a relatively lower cost of cooperation.BBSR

How to think about pain with the whole person in mind

Too often, pain is reduced to a simple symptom of illness or injury – a puzzle piece to fit into the differential diagnostic jigsaw. Pain reports that fit the emerging pathoanatomical picture are validated and treated accordingly. But many reports don’t fit this picture, and the widespread stigma associated with persistent pain is most commonly directed toward these individuals, whose symptoms aren’t well explained by known pain mechanisms. A root problem is not seeing the person in pain or the suffering they experience. This presentation aims to help participants develop a more comprehensive perspective on pain that better integrates its complexities within clinical practice. Participants will be introduced to the Multi-modal Assessment model of Pain (MAP; Wideman et al, Clinical Journal of Pain 2019; 35(3): 212). MAP offers a novel framework to understand the fundamentally subjective natures of pain and suffering and how they can be best addressed within clinical practice. MAP aims to help clinicians view pain, first and foremost, as an experience (like sadness), which may or may not correspond to specific pathology or diagnostic criteria (like clinical depression). MAP aims to facilitate a more compassionate approach to pain management by providing a rationale for why all reported pain should be validated, even when poorly understood. Viewing pain in this manner helps highlight the central importance of listening to patients’ narrative reports, trying to understand the meaning and context for their experiences of pain and using this understanding to help alleviate suffering

A condição do Homem em Ruy Cinatti

Introdução - A Condição do Homem em Ruy Cinatti"Católico Poeta""As praias de Deus"Conclusã

O futuro do Evangelho

I. A urgência de um debate alargadoII. O religioso deslocou-se... porque está vivoIII. A inquietação éticaIV. «O Futuro do Evangelho

A cidade como lugar teológico

A religião na cidade mutanteO princípio da realidadeAs duas cidadesPerspectivas de evangelizaçãoEm jeito de conclusã

A Teologia como discurso humano acerca de Deus

1. A importância do religioso2. A origem da "teologia"3. As tentações e os limites do pensamento "teológico"4. A dialéctica de "pertença" e de "distanciamento" na linguagem humana e na sua afirmação de Deus5. Conclusã